Candace Jaruszewicz and her son stood in the middle of the Cistern yard. They’d just arrived from Erie, Pa., to dig up some family history and investigate her Charleston-born grandmother’s wild stories. The drive had been smooth and relatively painless, but they’d lost their bearings as soon as they’d set out on foot in this unfamiliar city. Ultimately, Jaruszewicz is glad they did.

“It was night, the lights were on in the trees. It was so beautiful, and I thought, ‘I could work here,’” she recalls. “Of course, I never dreamed I’d actually end up working here.”

Within a year of unwittingly stumbling onto campus, however, Jaruszewicz had joined the College as assistant professor and director of the master of education program in early childhood education. Four years later, in 2005, she assumed directorship of N.E. Miles Early Childhood Development Center, the College’s demonstration and laboratory preschool – which, incidentally, is located only three buildings away from the Wentworth Street Garage.

“It turns out my grandmother’s house was where the parking garage is now,” Jaruszewicz smiles. “Isn’t that weird? It’s like it was meant to be.”

It may have been fate, but not just because of ECDC’s location. Jaruszewicz’s academic and professional background in laboratory schools and her interest in experimental early childhood education–curricula were perfectly in line with the mission of ECDC, a childcare and educational program that models best practices and collaborates across campus to provide observation, employment and research opportunities.

“It’s a really good fit for me. I came here for the academic side of it, and we’ve developed a strong publications and research agenda in support of the demonstration program,” says Jaruszewicz, who continues to teach one graduate class a year. “And being closer to the classroom experience on a daily basis gives me more credibility and authenticity in the classes I teach. Plus, I enjoy hanging out with the kids and seeing them learn and grow and interact.”

Truth be told, however, Jaruszewicz spends a good chunk of her time in a more administrative role – monitoring accreditation standards, supporting the four lead teachers, coordinating several hundred observers every year and hiring and supervising five graduate assistants and 15–18 student workers every semester.

“I’m basically running a small business on campus,” she says, noting that – with almost 300 children on the waiting list for one of ECDC’s 55–60 spots – supply isn’t keeping up with demand. “The program hasn’t gotten any bigger since it started in 1974, which means most people just can’t be accepted.”

Still, Jaruszewicz never stops promoting ECDC.

“We depend on the support of every department on campus, so it’s important for me to have a relationship with all the different offices,” she says. “I’m like an ambassador of goodwill for ECDC.”

And she certainly seems to be doing her job.

“We’re fortunate to have access to tremendous tangible and intangible resources, partly because of the great affection that the community has for us,” says Jaruszewicz, who also works in the local, state and national communities – serving on a number of boards and committees and regularly attending and speaking at conferences, seminars and workshops. “We have a really good reputation and a long history, and we see that as a reflection of the quality of the School of Education, Health, and Human Performance and of the College as a whole.”

But, she adds, ECDC isn’t just a reflection of the quality of the College. It’s a reflection of the people of the College.

“It’s one of the few places on campus where people from all different departments cross paths on a daily basis,” says Jaruszewicz, explaining that nearly all of ECDC’s current students are children of faculty and staff. “So it’s a great place to get to know people you otherwise might never bump into.”

Then again, you never know what you might chance upon when you’re wandering around Charleston. Jaruszewicz is living proof of that.